Politics

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 23:05 UTC

  Peru presidential hopefuls: “Leprosy, Yellow Fever; Alzheimer; Cirrhosis and Autism”

  

  Peruvian voters appealed to clever and skilful mechanisms using the Twitter net to avoid the ban on releasing the latest public opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s April 10 presidential election.

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 22:51 UTC

  US report on Argentina questions judicial system and campaign against the media

  

  The US State Department released its annual report on human rights around the world and questioned the Argentine judicial system’s independence along with a series of abuses carried out by police forces including deaths and torture claims.

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 22:45 UTC

  Peru/Mexico sign trade agreement, fist step for a regional expansion towards Asia

  

  Peru and Mexico signed this week a trade agreement with the aim of jointly reaching out to Asia, an undertaking that they want Chile and Colombia to join

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 20:08 UTC

  Argentina imports’ hurdles create ‘uncertainty’ to EU/Mercosur trade negotiations

  

  Argentina’s hurdles to imports don’t help European Union /Mercosur trade negotiations and generate “uncertainty” warned the EU head of delegation in Argentina Alfonso Diez Torres. He also criticized the “one to one” Argentine policy that forces the local assembly plants to match every import-dollar with export dollars.

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 20:06 UTC

  US military Unified Command Plan reflect the growing importance of the Arctic

  

  Changes made to the US military’s Unified Command Plan shift geographic boundaries and stress the growing importance of the Arctic, US Pentagon officials said in an American Forces press service

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 17:13 UTC

  EU tells Portugal more reforms are needed to secure the 80 billion Euro bail-out

  

  Euro zone finance ministers told Portugal that it would have to implement new economic reforms that went beyond those proposed by its outgoing government if it hoped to secure aid from the EU and IMF.

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 17:09 UTC

  Spain an “insurmountable dam protecting the Euro zone” says Deputy PM

  

  Spain has gone from being “another domino” to “an insurmountable dam that it protecting the Euro zone” due to its tough economic reforms, the government said Friday.

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 03:08 UTC

  FAO food prices index drops 2.9% in March but is still 39% over a year ago

  

  The FAO Food Price Index has dropped for the first time after eight months of continuous price spikes, FAO announced Thursday. The Index averaged 230 points in March 2011, down 2.9% from its peak in February, but still 37% above March 2010.

• Friday, April 8th 2011 - 03:03 UTC

  US retaliates expels Ecuadorean ambassador, but wants ‘positive’ relation with Quito

  

  The United States expelled on Thursday Ecuador’s ambassador to Washington in retaliation for the expulsion of the top US diplomat in Quito. Within hours, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa accused the US of infiltrating his country’s police.

• Thursday, April 7th 2011 - 21:49 UTC

  Three year contract for the new Ice patrol HMS Protector to replace the Red Plum

  

  The Royal Navy will have a new ‘Protector’ of British interests in Antarctica. HMS Protector, upholding the famous name of the 1950s and 60s Antarctic survey vessel, is being loaned on a three-year trial with the Fleet while the long-term future of the Antarctic Patrol vessel HMS Endurance is considered.